Nightmares
by FandomsMJ
Summary: Nightmares were such terrible things. (Now a series of one-shots. Due to the nature of the chapters this will always be marked as 'complete'.)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or related characters.

 _A/N: This takes place after the events of Night of the Zinja._

* * *

"We need to get out of here." Hadji said, noting the Zinja - as Jonny called the robotic ninjas controlled by the Zin Twins - struggling to get out from under the crates it was trapped under. It also wouldn't be long before the Zin twins regained consciousness. Despite knowing they didn't have much time, Jessie still ran to her father's side. She fell to her knees beside him and pressed two fingers to the artery in his neck, praying she'd find a pulse despite the ninja stars embedded in his chest. "Jessie..." Hadji called after her.

"I have to be sure." The fourteen-year-old's voice was borderline squeaky as she struggled to speak past the lump in her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes when she found no pulse. Her father was dead. Dead. Gone. Not coming back.

Hadji grabbed her arm and tugged gently, starting to pull her to her feet when a gloved hand shot out and caught her wrist.

"Dad...?" Jessie whispered daring to hope that maybe...

Race's eyes opened with a literal flash and Jessie gasped realizing that it wasn't her father and it most definitely was not human. She started struggling, trying to pull away as the disguised Zinja sat up. Hadji kicked it hard in the head, dazing it and causing it to let go of the girl.

Both teenagers started running, making a break for the door. There was the sound of ninja stars firing and Hadji cried out in pain. Jessie stopped and turned to find the fourteen-year-old boy lying face down on the floor, ninja stars embedded in his back. He wasn't breathing. "Hadji!" Jessie cried wanting nothing more than to believe he wasn't gone.

She didn't have time to grieve however, for the Zinja was on its feet and approaching swiftly now. She turned to start running only to shriek when the Zinja did a flip over her and landed right in front of her. She started backing away as the Zinja still looking like her father reached out. The gloved hand closed around her throat, tightening slowly.

Her emerald eyes went wide as she looked at the familiar face. "D-Dad...!" She gave a strangled cry. If that wasn't him then he must be around somewhere... right? Right?!

Suddenly everything faded away and she was sitting bolt upright in bed, tears trailing down her cheeks as she was aware something had woken her but she didn't know what - at least she hadn't until her emerald eyes focused on the familiar figure sitting on the edge of her bed. "D-Dad." She sobbed as he pulled her into a hug.

"Shh, it was just a nightmare, Jessie." Her father murmured as he began to rub her back. She rested her head against his chest, still crying even as the memory of what had truly happened in the warehouse came back to her.

Her father was alive (clearly), so was Hadji, and Jonny, and her as well. The Zin Twins and their plot had been foiled. It was over. Everyone was safe and sound.

And yet she couldn't forget that brief period of time in which she had believed her father's luck had run out and he was dead. Her mind kept going back to that moment when she'd looked into the skylight and saw her father lying there, ninja stars embedded in his chest. He hadn't even appeared to be breathing.

She realized she was rambling, stammering about what she had thought earlier and what had happened in her nightmare.

"Shh... it's alright Panchita." He shushed her gently. "It's alright. I'm right here. Everything's okay." He continued to murmur words of comfort as her crying calmed leaving her sniffling and clinging to every word he said. She closed her eyes, just listening to her father's confident voice and the strong beating of his heart.

Yes. It was alright now. Everything was okay.

* * *

Race didn't know how long he sat there holding his little girl (who wasn't so little anymore) as he murmured words of comfort before Jessie fell back asleep. He continued for a few moments longer, his voice growing softer until he eventually fell silent. He held her a little longer, just to be sure she was truly back asleep. "I'm sorry, Jessie." He whispered, though it still left much unsaid.

 _I'm sorry you had to be there tonight._

 _I'm sorry you, Jonny, and Hadji were put in danger tonight._

 _I'm sorry I helped the Zin Twins give you nightmares._

 _I'm sorry I have such a dangerous job._

 _I'm sorry you have to face the consequences of the job I have._

He sighed and shook his head before gently laying his daughter down. He gently tucked the blanket around her before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Standing, he quietly made his way to the door, stopping to glance back and make sure she was still asleep.

This was the part he hated about Jessie coming to live with him and the Quest Team. She was more exposed to the dangers he faced, she was more likely to have nightmares because of it, and there was nothing he could do to change that.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or related characters. I do, however, own my OC: Dr. Naomi Hawkins.

 _A/N: So, now Nightmares is a multi-chapter fic. Well... not really. I have so many story ideas involving different characters that revolve around the them of nightmares so I figured why not just make a collection of one-shots? These stories will not be in chronological order and they will all be stand-alone (unless it has part 1 or part 2 or so on in the chapter name)._

 _On another note, I am aware that Corvin's name is technically "Corbin". However, until seeing the Real Adventures of Jonny Quest episode Race Against Danger and finding QuestFan I had always heard the name said and seen it written as Corvin. Therefore, he will always be Corvin to me._

* * *

Estella found herself standing in the midst of some rubble somewhere on a cold night. Why she was here and how she got here she did not know. She didn't even know where "here" was. She looked around, looking for anything familiar. She found her husband on his knees beside some rubble, face buried in his hands as his shoulders shook.

"Roger?" Estella tried to move towards him but she could not move at all. "Roger!" She cried, now alarmed. She couldn't move? Why couldn't she move?

Race didn't seem to hear her, lost in the storm of emotion that had overtaken him. Estella knew whatever had caused it was lying buried under that pile of rubble. She was becoming afraid now. She couldn't move, no one could hear her, and her husband was having an emotional breakdown.

"Corvin, over here." A sharp voice came from the left. Estella saw an African-American woman running towards Race, reaching him she knelt down beside him. "Bannon? Race? Race, what is it?" Estella recognized the doctor but couldn't think of her name at the moment.

Race just shook his head, a trembling hand making a brief motion to the rubble. The woman - what was her name? Hawk? Hawkins. That was it. Hawkins. - glanced at the rubble but did not move it. Obviously she was not prepared to look at something that could cause Race Bannon to break down sobbing.

Wrapping an arm around the man's shoulders, she pulled him closer. She didn't know what he had seen, but she just couldn't stand by and watch.

Corvin came running up from the other side. He frowned upon seeing Race, "What..."

Hawkins cut him off with a sharp nod to the rubble. Corvin knelt down and lifted the rubble. He replaced it a moment later, the color draining from his face.

"What is it?" Hawkins asked softly.

Corvin looked at her, his face still showing how horrifying whatever was under the rubble was. "His wife and child." He answered, voice thick.

W-what?

"Oh God..." Hawkins instinctively pulled Race closer.

Suddenly Estella recognized just where she was. Their home. Or what was left of it and the surrounding houses. She covered her mouth with a hand, her other hand going to rest on her slightly swollen belly.

And suddenly everything went deathly quiet. Estella, still horrified, was looking around the destroyed neighborhood. She was dead? Was she truly dead? This couldn't be real. No. This could't be real!

"Race?" Hawkins's voice brought the frightened woman's attention back to the three. Race had gone silent and limp, which was not a good sign. The doctor pressed two fingers to his neck, searching for a pulse. The doctor shut her dark eyes, "He's dead." She murmured.

"Dead?" Corvin looked confused. How could Race just die like that?

"It's happened before." Hawkins murmured. "Death by a broken heart. An autopsy might show something else... but that was the root cause."

No. This wasn't real. This could not be real. This just couldn't be real.

* * *

Race laid down slowly to avoid waking Estella. He had just gotten home from a mission - that despite being a low-risk mission - had been quite long and he was exhausted. He had just barely closed his eyes before he felt movement, then Estella was shaking him, sobbing for him to wake up. "'Stella?" Race's eyes flew open. "What's wrong?" he sat up, pulling her into a hug. She started rambling on about something but it was difficult to understand what she was saying due to her sobbing. Race shushed her gently as he began to run a hand through her red hair. "Calm down okay? Just calm down. I got you, it's okay. Shh. It's okay." He murmured.

Estella buried her face in his shoulder, still sobbing. Race assumed she'd had a nightmare. A bad one judging by her current emotional state. He continued to murmured words of comfort as he held her, just waiting for her to calm down enough to explain.

He didn't know how long it took, but eventually she calmed down, her sobbing reduced to just sniffles. "I'm sorry." She murmured softly her voice still trembling a little. "It was just a silly nightmare, I shouldn't have w-woken you..."

"Shh." Race shushed her. "It's alright. I wasn't even asleep. Besides, it seemed like more than just a 'silly nightmare' to me. You okay?"

She nodded. "Y-yeah..."

"Want to talk about it?" Race asked. Estella shook her head. If Race was bothered by the fact she didn't want to talk to him about it, he didn't show it. He just kissed the top of her head. "Alright."

They laid down, with Estella half on top of him though she was positioned carefully to avoid crushing her slightly swollen belly. With her head resting on her husband's chest, she could hear the strong beating of his heart.

* * *

 _A/N: I swear, one of these days I will write a story showing them arguing... one of these days. Also spoiler alert: the next one will most likely have Race as the one suffering from the nightmare._


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or related characters.

* * *

It was late in the night when Benton was woken by... something. He lay there staring at the blank canvas wall of the tent as he listened trying to determine what had woken him. Being out in the middle of the jungle miles away from civilization opened up alot of possibilities for trouble. Fortunately he didn't hear Bandit yapping or the boys screaming for him and Race, which meant odds were they were okay. Perhaps he should get up and check though, just to be sure.

He was about to do just that when a sound came from the other side of the tent. The scientist froze, just listening. He heard it again. It was... a whimper? Sitting up, Benton glanced over to the cot on the other side of the tent. Race was still asleep though occasionally he'd roll from one side to the other. He whimpered again, no doubt lost in a nightmare.

Benton sighed and shook his head as he lay down again. Nightmares were the mind's way of working through something, it was best to let it run its course. Though, it must be a truly terrible nightmare to make Race cry in his sleep. But then, Benton supposed Race wouldn't have his normal emotional control while asleep and having a nightmare.

That didn't make the growing cries from the other side of the tent any easier to listen to however.

Benton shut his eyes tightly, repeating over and over again that it was best to let Race's mind sort through whatever it had to. That's why he was having the nightmare after all.

"No..." The word was uttered in a voice that Benton had never heard before. All confidence the voice typically held was lost in devastating pain and fear. "No... no..." Race was wriggling around now his voice rising as he struggled.

Screw it.

Benton rose and made his way to the other side of the tent. The mind could also sort through things while awake, couldn't it? "Race? Race, wake up." He shook the bodyguard gently. "You're having a nightmare. Wake up."

Ice blue eyes shot open, wide with fear as they darted left and right before coming to focus on him. Benton had seen Race scared before, but this was different. This was far more than just a brief flash of the emotion. Not a single ounce of fear was hidden from him this time. Then, like a mask sliding into place, the fear was gone replaced by confusion. "Benton?" Race sat up slowly, "What...?"

"You were having a nightmare, a bad one from the sounds of it." Benton answered.

"Oh." Race mumbled. He went to rub his tired eyes only to frown when he felt the remaining tears on his face. Shaking his head slightly he wiped away the tears with the cuff of his sleeve.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Benton asked.

Race shook his head, "Can't remember it."

Somehow, Benton knew he wasn't lying. Honestly he should have expected something like that. Given his job, Race was exposed to the absolute darkest parts of the world, something that would give anyone nightmares. If terrible nightmares became to frequent then it was not much of a stretch to believe the mind would build up some defenses, such as locking away the events of a nightmare somewhere Race could not remember it.

"Are you alright, Race?" Benton asked. Even if he could not remember the nightmare, odds were he had at least some idea of what had caused it.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Doc." Race answered though his tone said otherwise. "I'm going to go check on the boys."

"Alright." Benton sighed. He returned to his cot as Race pulled on his boots before leaving the tent.

* * *

Race sighed as he walked over to the second tent. He hadn't been lying when he said he couldn't remember the nightmare. He honestly could not remember, but that didn't mean he couldn't piece together some of what happened. Though he could not remember the events, he could still feel the emotions caused by it. And right now there was a little voice in the back of his head screaming at him to check on Jonny and Hadji. He also wanted to check on Jessie, but that wasn't possible.

Poking his head into the tent he found both the boys sleeping peacefully with Bandit on the floor between them also asleep. The dog didn't even react to his presence, which on one hand was a good thing - he didn't need that dog to wake up the boys - but on the other, if someone tried coming into the tent it would be nice if the lazy bulldog would react. Though, he supposed it was possible that Bandit simply didn't react because he knew him. If a strange tried to enter then odds were the dog would wake. At least, Race hoped that was the case.

Shaking his head Race made his way back to the tent he and Dr. Quest were sharing. Entering quietly, he made his way to his cot and sat down. He took off his boots and laid down with the hope of getting back to sleep though he doubted he'd be able to.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or related characters.

 _A/N: Takes places after the Real Adventures of Jonny Quest episode: Race Against Danger (beware spoilers!)._

* * *

With the band connecting their wristbands cut, Jonny and Race ran across the ice, making their way towards the exit of the ice cavern. Suddenly the ice gave out beneath Race's feet and he fell through. "Race!" The thirteen-year-old cried in alarm as he grabbed his friend's wrist. Looking down past Race, Jonny could see an endless chasm. The boy shuddered to think of what would have happened if the bodyguard had fallen all the way down.

Unfortunately Race was too heavy for Jonny to pull him up and there was nothing below the ice for Race to use to climb up. "Let me go, Jonny." Race said.

"What? No!" Jonny replied vehemently.

"I'll drag you down with me." Race said his ice blue eyes meeting Jonny's azure ones.

"No you won't!" Jonny shook his head. No. There was another way. There had to be another way.

"You can't pull me up on your own and I can't climb up." Race pointed out. "Let me go."

"No!" Jonny refused. "There has to be a way..."

He looked around the ice cavern, searching for even the barest hint of an idea. There had to be a way. There was always a way.

"Jonny." There was a note in Race's voice that Jonny didn't like. He looked down at the bodyguard and found a slightly guilty look in his eyes. "I'm sorry." Race twisted his wrist suddenly, breaking free of the boy's grasp.

"Race!" Jonny screamed, watching helplessly as his friend and guardian fell to his death.

* * *

Race sat bolt upright in bed, his breath coming in short gasps. His eyes darted around the room before he recognized his bedroom. He let out a sigh and lay back down, taking a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He couldn't remember the nightmare but he was almost certain it had something to do with Temple.

Temple. His old friend and mentor Greg Temple. To think he had turned and taken over Kreed's operation... No. Temple had died during that mission twelve years ago. The nerve gas had killed the real Temple, leaving only a shell behind. Despite this knowledge, Race couldn't help but grieve for his friend and feel guilty that he had failed to save him all those years ago.

Shaking his head, Race closed his eyes and attempted to go back to sleep. A few minutes later he rolled onto his side, then onto his other side after a few minutes, then onto his back, onto his side, onto his back again... Giving up, Race threw back the covers and got out of bed. There was no way he was getting back to sleep anytime soon.

He left his room, deciding to check on the boys. He checked Hadji's room first since it was the closest. The fourteen-year-old was sleeping peacefully, a reassuring sight after the day's events. Leaving Hadji's room Race went to the next door over and opened it. He found Jonny lying in bed, tossing and turning.

The teenager was mumbling in his sleep, his voice sounding desperate. "No! There has to be a way..."

A nightmare. It had to be. Which, after the day the boy had, Race wasn't very surprised. He sighed as he entered the room, knowing it was best to wake Jonny before the nightmare got too rough.

"Race!" The boy cried suddenly, "No...!"

"Jonny, Jonny wake up." Race shook the boy gently. "Come on Jonny, wake up."

The boy's azure eyes shot open and he sat up. He stared at Race for a long moment before he recognized him, "Race?"

"You were having a nightmare." The bodyguard explained.

"Y-yeah." Jonny ran a hand through his blond hair, his eyes troubled.

"Want to talk about it?" Race asked.

Jonny was quiet so long that Race began to think the boy wouldn't answer. Then he said, "We were in the ice cavern of the obstacle course. The ice broke a-and you fell. I managed to grab your wrist but..." He fell silent, biting his lower lip.

"But?" Race prompted.

"Y-you told me to let you go." Jonny murmured his voice beginning to tremble. "You said you'd just drag me down. W-when I didn't let go, y-you... y-y-you..." His voice cracked and he swallowed hard against the lump that had formed in his throat.

"Broke free from your grasp?" Race guessed.

Jonny nodded miserably, still fighting his emotions.

Slowly, giving the boy plenty of time to pull away, Race pulled him into a hug. Jonny didn't hesitate to lean against him, resting his head against the bodyguard's shoulder. They sat like that for a long few moments, the only sound being Jonny's shuddering breaths as he tried to regain his composure. Then, after an even longer few moments he spoke, "Don't ever do that, Race. Please."

"I won't Jonny." Race murmured in reply. Though he knew, if he absolutely had to, he would do exactly what he had done in the nightmare. Perhaps lying to the boy was not the best course of action, but right now Jonny needed reassurance. Besides, Race didn't exactly specify what he was saying he wouldn't do therefore he technically wasn't lying.

He held Jonny for a little longer, gently rubbing the boy's back. Soon, Jonny's breathing evened out as he relaxed against him. Race gently laid him down before tucking the blanket around him. Well aware that Jonny was a rather light sleeper, Race stood slowly and quietly made his way out of the room, pausing in the doorway to look back and make sure the boy was still asleep.

Race returned to his own room, though he knew he would not be able to sleep. Race knew if he had to he would willingly give his life for any of the kids or Dr. Quest. Not because it was his job as the Quests' bodyguard (and Jessie's father) but because he cared about them and would rather not let them die if there was something he could do to save them. Yet it still worried him to know that it may happen in the very way Jonny had dreamed of that night: forcing them to let him die so he didn't take them with him. Race knew he'd do it in a heartbeat despite the pain it would cause, and that made him feel rather guilty. He supposed it was fortunate the odds of it happening like that were fairly slim.

At least, he hoped the odds of that happening were fairly slim.


End file.
